CIRCUIT FORMATON AND ADMINISTRATIVE ISSUES

List of Wisconsin United Methodist Circuits and Circuit Leaders

The District Superintendent and the Circuit Plan

It may first be helpful to remind ourselves of the central purpose and function of the district superintendent:

Core Purpose: As an extension of the Episcopal Office, the District Superintendent oversees the total ministry of clergy, churches and circuits for the purpose of developing leaders and making new disciples of Jesus Christ.

Primary Task: The superintendent provides to the bishop and cabinet an understanding of the region, (including knowing well the ministry of the clergy, congregations and circuits) in order to effectively deploy clergy to appropriate appointments, to oversee and encourage excellence in ministry and to encourage the development of new faith and/or new faith communities beyond the normal ministries of the church that are focused on the worshipping community.

In each area of specific responsibility, it is the superintendent's role to hold forth the vision of developing effective leadership who work toward building strong healthy congregations to the end of making new disciples of Jesus Christ and the development of new faith communities.

The underlying core value of the circuit plan is that Christian living and leadership is best done in community rather than in isolation. Clergy Circuit Teams and ultimately the circuits themselves will begin to model a connectedness and a team spirit that we yearn to see among Wisconsin United Methodists. It is anticipated that as we work and develop mission and ministry together, that we will better share both the blessings and the challenges of that mission and ministry.

We will now cover four specific areas on which the superintendent has impact: circuit and circuit leader oversight of the circuits, appointments, the annual church conference and supervision. We will then be open to your questions and comments as we work together to refine the circuit plan and its implications.

Circuits
Circuit leaders are conveners and facilitators of the Clergy Circuit Team. Because circuit leaders will lead the Clergy Circuit Team as facilitators, from time to time other clergy team members will serve in a variety of roles as connecting links to and with the superintendent. Such roles might include communicating and reporting back to the superintendent in the areas of training plans, situations of conflict within the circuit and others areas.

The clergy circuit leader will be a connecting link between the circuit and the superintendent for purposes of communication and scheduling. The circuit leader would let the superintendent know which clergy leader would be connecting with the superintendent in terms of bringing training proposals and giving progress reports concerning conflict resolution within the circuit. Each superintendent is counting on the circuit leader to keep the superintendent up-to-date concerning the plan of the circuit. From what has been said, it is clear that circuit leaders are not "mini-superintendents." Circuit leaders are not involved in making evaluations of clergy on the circuit, nor are they to be asked to make recommendations concerning pastoral appointments.

Appointments
The cabinet continues to work toward the goal of longer-term pastoral appointments. There is a strong body of evidence demonstrating that significant growth and vitality occur in local churches in years four to eight of a pastorate. When we view an entire circuit as a mission field, it will be important to focus on that mission for the longer term.

The cabinet is developing tools that each pastor and congregation and circuit will use to develop its profile. It is important for the cabinet to have written profiles that are as complete and current as possible. Therefore, the written profile will need to be updated on a regular/annual basis.

If a change of appointment is desired on the part of either a pastor or a congregation, the pastor or congregation must take initiative in communicating in writing that request and its rationale to the superintendent.

The cabinet will end the tradition of the annual appointment request form. Neither the pastor nor the PPRC/SPRC will be asked to complete an annual appointment request form. As already stated, it is the expectation of the cabinet that appointments be longer term. Annually filling out an appointment request form creates the unintended consequence of inhibiting a longer term vision and plan for ministry. After five years in an appointment, the superintendent will intentionally discuss the prospects of a still longer-term ministry with the pastor and PPRC/SPRC.

When there is a change in appointment, the superintendent will convene the introductory meeting between the new pastor and the congregation. In order to emphasize the teamwork of the circuit, a pastor and/or layperson from another congregation within the circuit is expected to be present for the introductory meeting. After a pastor has been appointed to a new congregation and circuit, he/she shall tell the PPRC/SPRC of the current church that he/she is leaving, in most cases without the superintendent being present. As an expression of team, another clergy member and/or layperson of the circuit is expected to be present for that announcement to help communicate the appointment process and to help begin plans for transition.

Appointments will be based upon the missional needs of both congregations and circuits and upon the gifts and skills and missional needs of the pastor. The superintendent will be responsible for consulting with the congregation's SPRC, the pastor and the circuit team when a move is forthcoming. The means of consultation will be written profiles as well as direct contact.

In order to better communicate the appointment process as well as other responsibilities that fall to the local church PPRC/SPRC, the superintendents will hold training events throughout each region in late August and early September of 2004 for all local church PPRC/SPRCs and pastors.

Annual Charge/Church Conferences
Annual Church Conferences will be authorized by the superintendent, but presided over by Elders of the United Methodist Church in accordance with the Book of Discipline (by Discipline, the district superintendent needs to authorize charge/church conferences). The superintendent will work with the elders to insure that church conferences are recognized as a vital and important part of church life as United Methodists.

Each circuit will determine how they will approach the annual church conferences. Potential models will be included in the charge/church conference information packets that will be sent to each church (usually through the clergy) in early August. Currently, there are three basic ideas:

1. A circuit conference that would involve worship, an overview of the circuit plan and the approval of the basic actions that must be taken on a yearly basis.
2. Elders on the circuit conducting all the yearly church conferences on the circuit.
3. On circuits where there are not enough elders to do plan #2, elders outside the circuit may be invited.

Other special church conferences for building/property issues, staff additions, candidate for ordained ministry recommendations, etc. are handled on a case-by-case basis. Some special situations will be handled by an elder, while others may require the presence of the superintendent. Requests for charge/church conferences and the elder proposed to officiate at such a conference must be approved by the superintendent.

The district superintendent expects to be on the circuit once a year in addition to time spent with Clergy Circuit Teams. One method of being on the circuit might be a circuit conference for celebration of ministry or for training.

Supervision
The Book of Discipline indicates that the district superintendent has supervisory oversight of clergy on the districts. We see our role as encouraging each individual clergy person to connect with the larger vision of building strong/healthy congregations that develop leadership for making disciples of Jesus Christ and sparking new faith and new faith communities. In that context we are concerned about the overall health and well-being of Wisconsin conference clergy as well as the congregations and circuits. It is important that we know the clergy and churches and circuits as well as possible.

Knowing and overseeing the ministry of the clergy will take different forms. Superintendents will familiarize themselves with the demographics of the districts in order to assist clergy and circuits in identifying where and how new ministries directed toward new faith might be undertaken. Superintendents will be present at some circuit meetings. The superintendent sits on the district committees on ministry, the district building and locations committees and other district committees as appropriate. As time permits, superintendents are in attendance at worship and other ministry events at the local church and circuit level. Meeting with individual clergy may occur at times when the superintendent is already scheduled to be at a Clergy Circuit Team meeting. In addition, oversight and support can be accomplished by e-mail or telephone or at other times and in ways requested by the clergy.

A goal of the circuit plan is to develop teams that truly care and support one another in ministry and in one another's spiritual and life journeys. It will be important that the circuit be utilized as a first resource for exploring new faith and new ministry ideas as well as professional and personal concerns. The clergy circuit team is the appropriate venue to discuss all ministry ideas from introducing an off-campus worship to developing a ministry to neighborhood children to proposals for remodeling and new building. In addition, the SPRC/PPRCs and circuit teams will be trained as "first responders" in dealing with situations of conflict or concern within the local congregation. Such concern often arises when a vision of ministry arises that pushes beyond the doors of a congregation into the community at large. When a call comes into a regional office from a local church member or pastor that is related to a conflict or concern, the caller will be asked whether or not the concern has been presented to the SPRC/PPRC or the individual clergy or the Clergy Circuit Team. The superintendent is available for advice and support of the Clergy Circuit Team and ultimately individual clergy and congregations as appropriate.

It is important for the clergy circuit teams to understand that under the circuit plan, as many decisions as possible are made at the local and circuit level. The superintendent becomes the coach of the circuit teams with the goal being the not only the building of strong healthy congregations, but the intentional outreach in a deliberate manner to the geographic mission area to which the circuits are assigned.